I took an Eastern religions class two years ago and, as a practicing Theravadin Buddhist I became the de facto Theravada authority in the classroom--I was even able to educate my professor on a point or two. I do not consider myself a great scholar, but over many years of reading and study I do have a pretty solid foundation in the Theravada basics.

That professor recently e-mailed me that she will be out of town for a week this fall and she would like me to come in and teach this year's students a unit on the Theravada. I was wondering if folks here had any input on what they think should be included in a scholastic overview of the Theravada tradition.

I already have significant ideas of what I want to talk about and how I want to structure it, but any input from other Theravadins out there would be much appreciated.

It's about two class periods or about three hours' worth of material/discussion/activity I need to prepare.[this is a question I already posted at e-sangha. wondering if the folks here have new/different opinions]

Hi RMI'm also going to be giving a presentation to high-school students on the Theravada perspective on death & dying in a couple of weeks.Perhaps if you give us a precis of what you are going to present and that will allow members to fill in the blanks.metta

Ben

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Well, I have no outline, as such, but here is a brainstorm of concepts that I wish to Introduce. She will have already taught basic Buddhism (Life of Siddhattha, 4NT, etc etc), so my job is Theravada-specific:

Raga Mala wrote:Well, I have no outline, as such, but here is a brainstorm of concepts that I wish to Introduce. She will have already taught basic Buddhism (Life of Siddhattha, 4NT, etc etc), so my job is Theravada-specific:

--"Essential Tenets of Theravadin Buddhism:---Three Refuges (meaning of refuge, etc)---Five precepts---Three marks of existence (though this is not theravada-exclusive, I want to make sure students don't leave teh class without it)---The three principal Suttas (first discourse, fire sermon, anatta discourse), have them read (at least excerpts) and discuss

Maybe introduce some thought-provoking optional readings by Ven Thanissaro, Ven Bodhi, or Ven Nanamoli...just to get them thinking.

Looks like you pretty much have it sorted out! and that is my last post for a while!!

This offering maybe right, or wrong, but it is one, the other, both, or neither!Blog,-Some Suttas Translated,Ajahn Chah."Others will misconstrue reality due to their personal perspectives, doggedly holding onto and not easily discarding them; We shall not misconstrue reality due to our own personal perspectives, nor doggedly holding onto them, but will discard them easily. This effacement shall be done."

Hi RMIt looks good. When you get time, you might want to start thinking about how you want to structure your discussion.In a similar situation, I would probably use the concept of the three jewels as the over-arching structure.

Under the heading of 'Buddha', you could include:

- historical social and spiritual context which Siddhartha was borne into- recount of the bodhisatta's noble quest as per the ariyapariyesana sutta- revision of the Buddha's life (ministry) from the Bodhi Tree to Parinibbana

Under the heading of 'Dhamma':- Four Noble Truths (introduce here Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion: SN 56.11)--Fourth Truth:---Noble Eightfold Path. What you could do here is divide N8FP in three divisions:Sabba papassa akaraṇaṃAbstain from all sinful actions-that is, all unwholesome actions, physical or vocal, which hurt other beings and disturb their peace and harmony.

The second part of the Path is samadhi-one-pointed concentration of wholesome mind, summed up as: Kusalassa upasampadaPerform wholesome actions with concentrated, wholesome mind.

The third part is pañña-wisdom or insight, summed up as: SacittapariyodapanaṃPurify the totality of mind by developing insight.

These three trainings are the teaching of all the Buddhas of the past and will be the teaching of all the Buddhas of the future. That is why it is said, Etaṃ Buddhana sasanaṃ.This is the teaching of all the Buddhas.

Or:Sila: - Right speech- Right action- Right livelihoodSamadhi:- Right effort- Right mindfulness- Right concentration

Panna: - Right view- Right intention

Organisation of the TipitakaDevelopment of theAbhidhamma

Sangha- development of the sangha, including the four-fold assembly during the Buddha's lifetime- vinaya- role of ordained sangha in maintaining the teachings following the death of the Buddha. Include here the Councils- Commentarial tradition-'modern' revivalism

Kind regards

Ben

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

A question for you friend. How did you determine the 3 principal suttas?

"For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, what accords with the Dhamma is this:'The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple. He is the one who knows, not I." - MN. 70 Kitagiri Sutta

Hi Ben,As I tried to make clear, it's not my place to give a teaching encompassing those parts that might fall under the heading of "general Buddhism," because the Professor will already have covered such matters and won't want me to spend class time re-tracing them. This includes the life story of the bodhisatta and discussion of the 4NT. Instead, I'd like to focus on the things that make Theravada unique--including (as in the case of the "Three Marks") concepts that may have traction in wider Buddhism but are not likely to have been discussed and/or receive special emphasis in the Theravada. It's not meant to be a sermon on the Dhamma, nor a General Buddhism overview, but a general overview of Theravada, and laying down distinctions that will separate and distinguish it from the later discussion on Mahayana.

Here's a good, more specific question I would pose to the group: what are some good seminar questions/discussion questions to spark conversation among the students? Questions I would pose to them and invite them to discuss.

BlackBird wrote:A question for you friend. How did you determine the 3 principal suttas?

Hi BlackBird,I didn't mean to definitively label them as being "principal," especially not in a way that was intended to demote the rest of the canon to secondary status. However, in a few readings I have encountered, they are grouped together as the three cardinal discourses of the Buddha. E.g.: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nanamoli/wheel017.html. Obviously the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta has specials tatus among suttas, and the eminence of the Anatta-lakkhana and aditta-pariyaya suttas is attested to, if nothing else, by the frequency with which they are chanted, as compared to other Suttas.

"For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, what accords with the Dhamma is this:'The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple. He is the one who knows, not I." - MN. 70 Kitagiri Sutta

Just a thought but you could make mention of why we have the pali canon in writing at all, maybe mention what happened in Sri Lanka and how Burma helped restart the island's Theravada again later. I think any Theravada-specific discussion should be centred around the canon. just a thought

Mawkish1983 wrote: I think any Theravada-specific discussion should be centred around the canon. just a thought

Yes, with passing mention to the existence of the agamas etc., their likeness to the Pali suttas, and their neglected status in Mahayana Buddhism.

Metta,Retro.

"When we transcend one level of truth, the new level becomes what is true for us. The previous one is now false. What one experiences may not be what is experienced by the world in general, but that may well be truer. (Ven. Nanananda)

“I hope, Anuruddha, that you are all living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.” (MN 31)

1. Life and teaching of Buddha as presented in Pali Canon1.1 Structure of Pali Canon1.2 Buddha's life, including context of other samana traditions1.3 Main teachings (4NT, 8FNW, 37 factors of enlightenment etc.)

2. Historical development of Theravada Buddhism2.1 Early Buddhism in India2.2 Early Theravada in Sri Lanka (Vimuttimagga, Commentaries, Visuddhimagga)2.3 From middle ages to modern time

As I tried to make clear, a general Buddhism overview is not my purpose--she will already have covered 4NT, and while they are important, I prefer to spend my limited time discussing what I am meant to discuss (i.e. the Theravada) rather than reviewing basic Buddhism material.

> THERAVADA BUDDHISM INTRO FALL ‘09> > SESSION ONE, OCT 19TH, “INTRODUCING THE THERAVADA”> > I. What does Thera-vada mean?> > > > > > II. Distinguishing Theravada from Mahayana> > A. Historically> > > > B. Modern World> > > > C. Terminology> > 1.> “Hinayana”> > > > 2. “Nikaya> Schools”> > D. Similarities> and inter-relation Mahayana and Theravada> > > > III. The Canon> > A. History of the Pali Canon (GO 'LIGHT' ON THIS MATERIAL ... SPECIFICALLY UNDERSCORE HOW THIS HISTORY WOULD BE IMPORTANT FOR A GLOBAL CITIZEN OF TODAY TO KNOW .... AND IF IT'S NOT CRITICAL, THEN PERHAPS FOREGO. EXPLORATION OF OTHER CONCEPTS SUCH AS NATURE OF SELF --- PARTICULARLY 5 SKANDHAS-- AND NIRVANA MIGHT BE MORE HELPFUL LONG-TERM.)> > 1.> The First Council/Oral Preservation> > > > 2. Transmission to Sri > Lanka/Saved in Writing> > > > B.> Organization of the Canon (IT WILL BE USEFUL FOR THEM TO HEAR ABOUT THE 3 BASKETS BUT THEN GO OVERVIEW. AGAIN, KEEP BEING GUIDED BY THE PRINCIPAL OF LONG-TERM RELEVANCE. YOU CAN OVERTLY TELL THEM THAT I WILL ASK ABOUT THE TERM "PITAKA" BUT WILL NOT BE HOLDING THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SPECIFIC NAMES. WHEN ACTUALLY REVIEWING NAMES, I WOULD SUGGEST USING AN ACCESSIBLE TRANSLATION .... CERTAINLY SAY THE 'REAL' NAME BUT THEIR HEADS WILL SWIM IF YOU USE ONLY THE PALI NAME AS YOU PROCEED.)

PERHAPS THE INTEREST WILL START TO WANE, BUT CURRENTLY STUDENTS ARE STILL STRUGGLING WITH PERSONHOOD IN BUDDHISM ... SO WHAT CONSTITUTES OUR SENSE OF SELF? HOW DOES ONE KNOW THAT HE KNOWS? BECAUSE THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS, EXPLORATION MAY BE MORE VALUABLE THAN MEMORIZATION. YOUR VOICE AND MANNERS WILL MESMERIZE AND LOTS OF INFO WILL FLOW IN .... HOWEVER, IT MAY NOT HOLD UNLESS YOU ARE HAVING THEM ACTIVELY WORK WITH, SEE THE RELEVANCE, 'PLAY' WITH THE IDEAS AND CONCEPTS YOU ARE PRESENTING. IN THESE OUTLINES YOU HAVEN'T NOTED PEDAGOGICAL HINTS .... AND YOU ARE A NATURAL TEACHER, SO I'M SURE SOME WILL COME NATURALLY. BUT THAT WOULD BE MY ONLY NUDGE -- REMEMBER ACTIVE EXPLORATION FOR RETENTION (A PRINCIPAL I MOUTH WELL BUT PRACTICE LESS THAN I'D LIKE!!)> > > > > > > > > > > > > > SESSION TWO, OCT 21st, “THE THREE THREES”